System and method for accessing through wireless internet access points information or services related to broadcast programs

ABSTRACT

A method and system for retrieving in real-time a hyperlink related to a topic selected during a broadcast of a program on a channel. A first request to a wireless internet gateway is sent for retrieving a universal-time and an address of a server. The universal-time pertains to when the command was performed. The universal-time and the address of the server is received from the wireless internet gateway in response to the first request. A second request to the server is sent via the wireless internet gateway using the received address of the server, for retrieving the one or a plurality of hyperlinks related to the selected topic, said second request transmitting to the server the received universal-time from which the hyperlink may be determined by the server. The hyperlink is received from the server via the wireless internet gateway and then recorded.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention is directed to techniques for integrating broadcast,wireless and computer systems. More particularly, the invention relatesto a system and method for having access by means of a mobile wirelessdevice, to information or services related to topics selected by a userwatching or listening to a broadcast (television or radio) program.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Wireless Fidelity

Wi-Fi (short for “wireless fidelity”) is the popular term for ahigh-frequency wireless local area network (WLAN). A Wi-Fi network canbe used to wirelessly connect multiple computers to each other, to theInternet, or to wired networks (which use IEEE 802.3 or Ethernet)anywhere within an area of a base station. The Wi-Fi technology israpidly gaining acceptance in many companies as an alternative of wiredLANs. Wi-Fi can also be installed for home network.

Wi-Fi is described in the 802.11b specification defined by the Instituteof Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). The 802.11b (Wi-Fi)technology operates in the unlicensed 2.4 GHz range offering data speedsup to 11 megabits per second. The modulation used in 802.11 is thePhase-Shift Keying (PSK). The modulation method selected for 802.11b isknown as Complementary Code Keying (CCK). The CCK modulation allows ahigher data transmission speeds and is less susceptible tomultipath-propagation interference. The Wi-Fi (802.11b) specification ispart of a series of wireless specifications together with the 802.11,802.11a, and 802.11g. All four standards use the Ethernet protocol andCSMA/CA (Carrier Sense Multiple Access with Collision Avoidance) forpath sharing. A copy of the 802.11b standard can be ordered at the IEEEsite, on: http://standards.ieee.org/.

At home, a Wi-Fi network can connect together the computers of thefamily to share hardware and software resources such as printers and theInternet. Everyone in the family can share files, photos and documents,and print them out on a single printer attached to a desktopcomputer—without the need of cables running throughout the home. At homeor in a home office, a Wi-Fi wireless network gives the possibility toshare a single high-speed broadband cable or DSL connection. Home Wi-Finetworking equipment, offered for a few hundred dollars, allows homenetworks to go beyond the control of bandwidth providers.

For small businesses, Wi-Fi networks provide connectivity between mobilesalesmen, floor staff, finance and accounting departments. Theflexibility of a Wi-Fi network is particularly well adapted to smallbusinesses having high tendencies to change and grow.

Large corporations use Wi-Fi wireless products to extend the standardwired Ethernet networks to public areas like meeting rooms, trainingclassrooms or large auditoriums. Many corporations also provide wirelessnetworks to their off-site employees to allow them to work at home or inremote offices. Also, large companies, hospitals, universities . . .often use Wi-Fi to connect buildings.

Internet Service Providers (ISPs) use Wi-Fi technology to provideInternet access to individual homes, companies, apartments or commercialcomplexes. The most important telecommunications companies in countriessuch as United States, South Korea, the United Kingdom, Sweden andJapan, have been very quick to embrace Wi-Fi and offer public “hotspots” (i.e., wireless access points).

Wi-Fi access has developed mainly in busy public places like coffeeshops, hotels, airport lounges, stores and other locations where largecrowds gather. But soon, Wi-Fi networks will spread out in urban areasextending its coverage throughout the central city, or along majorhighways, enabling travelers to use Wi-Fi services anywhere they canpull over and stop. Locations of Wi-Fi “hot spots” around the world arepublished on the Web, for instance on: http:/Itsu.net/

The number of Wi-Fi access points (widely known as “hot spots”) isspreading and growing very fast mainly in busy public places. Most ofthe time, radio and TV sets are already installed in these publicplaces. It is expected that “old” TV sets receiving broadcast programs,news, commercials and entertainment, and “new” Wi-Fi “hot spots”providing wireless access to on-demand information or services willcoexist in a near future.

On-Line Services on the Web

In our society, independently of the massive development of radio andtelevision, on-line services such as these provided by the World WideWeb (i.e., the Web) have rapidly emerged and are now widely available.Such on-line services based on the Internet, provide access to a hugeamount of information on an interactive basis. The Internet is a globalnetwork of computers. The Internet connects computers based on a varietyof different operating systems or languages using a language referred toas TCP/IP (“Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol”). With theincreasing size and complexity of the Internet, tools have beendeveloped to help users find information on the network, often called“navigators” or “navigation systems”. The World Wide Web (“WWW” or “theWeb”) is a recent superior navigation system. The Web is:

an Internet-based navigation system,

an information distribution and management system for the Internet, and

a dynamic format for communicating on the Web.

The Web integrates images, text, audio and video. A user on the Webusing a graphical user interface can transparently communicate withdifferent computers on the system, and different system applications,and different information formats for files and documents including, forexample, text, sound and graphics. Currently, on-line systems on the Weboffer a variety of different services to users, for instance, privatemessage services, electronic commerce, news, real-time games, access toelectronic databases, electronic newsletters, business-to-businesstransactions, or job placement services. But, even if such on-lineservices are now available, the Web remains essentially an open,multi-point to multi-point network where each user can select andretrieve different information from many different servers, and wheresearching and finding relevant information remains an arduous task,sometimes taking hours, even for experienced users.

Providing On-Line Services on Home Radio or Television

Media consumers have a need for additional information and services.When they watch a television program, many of them would like to haveaccess to related complementary data, such as stocks and productsprices, traffic and weather conditions, athletic records on OlympicGames or updated football scores. For instance, the complementaryinformation associated with a broadcast program may consist of thebiography of a player in a football match, an historical background onevents cited on a news program or the recipe of an apple cake on acooking show.

On the consumers side, people are looking for more information or dataabout what they listen to or view in the media. Consumers would like tohave access to special services associated with advertised products suchas product features, location of points of sales, discounts or coupons .. . .

On the media providers side, new sources of profit are expected byextending the quantity and quality of services and information providedto consumers of television or radio programs. Advertisers are lookingfor new and more effective forms of advertisement.

Nowadays, many television and radio broadcasters display an Internetaddress to make inquiries concerning the program that is broadcast.Accessing the Internet requires a computer. The user must manually enterthe Internet address in the computer. Some other systems allow theexchange of digital information with a user watching the television bycombining this information with the television signal (e.g., teletext).However, such systems limit the access to a single information sourceand this source is entirely under the control of the broadcast or cabletelevision operator. Also, the use of television sets as terminals foraccessing the Web is increasing every year. A trend is the integrationof Web and TV by transmitting along with a video signal a Web pageshowing for example statistics concerning a player during a sports game.The integration of Web and television, known as WebTV has been madepossible by the arrival of digital TV. In fact, many of the servicesassociated with WebTV are available today on the Web. The dataprocessing technology and the transmission technology used for thetelevision and the Web are converging. Now TV sets are more and more“intelligent”, and this intelligence requires the upgrading of hardwarein particular for supporting the Web functions.

Unlike the multi-point to multi-point Web network, broadcast radio ortelevision are primarily single-point to multi-point networks. Toprovide interactive services, the problem with broadcast television orradio systems is that the information is continuously broadcast in thesame direction from a transmitter to multiple receivers, from a providerto multiple consumers. Every user receives the same content from asingle broadcasting station. Communication is limited to only onedirection without any exchange of information with consumers. Peoplecannot interact with the programs, to seek additional information orservices. The main problem is to provide “two-way” web-like capabilitiesin a conventional (non-interactive) broadcast system.

In fact, until recently, there was no way for producers of broadcasttelevision or radio programs to create hyperlinks to accesscomplementary information related to a broadcast program. The systemsthat were proposed required the transmission of the complementaryinformation in a secondary signal, concurrently with the retransmissionof the main program. With these systems, for recovering the information,the radio auditors or television viewers must be equipped with specialdecoder circuits. Proposals based on transmitting identification oftelevision programs or URLs of hyperlinked information associated withtelevision programs during the vertical blanking interval (VBI) periodneed special decoders.

Providing On-Line Services on Public Radio or Television

To provide interactive services to people attending broadcast programsplayed or displayed on receivers installed on public places, the mainproblem is that users only receive a visual and oral information. Thereis no transmission of complementary information (e.g., URLs tohyperlinked information) from the broadcast program receiver to the userdevice. The communication of complementary information to the userswould require a specialized transmitter on the TV (or radio) set and aspecialized receiver on the wireless user device. Without a specializedtransmitter and receiver, with conventional TV sets and wirelessdevices, it is impossible to interact with broadcast programs to seekadditional information or services.

A system and method for enabling a radio auditor or a television viewerto access complementary information related to a broadcast programreceived in real-time that avoids the requirement of transmittinginformation from the broadcast program receiver to the user, has beendisclosed in PCT patent application WO 02/091228, filed Nov. 4, 2002,entitled “System and Method for Enhancing Broadcast Programs withInformation on the World Wide Web”. In a preferred embodiment of thisinvention, a system and method is described for enabling a personreceiving a broadcast program, to select a plurality of topics drawinghis or her attention on a user device and for immediately, or at a latertime, accessing additional information related to these selected topicson the Word Wide Web. The system is based on a synchronization of thelocal times of receivers and transmitters according to a sameuniversal-time, so that the flow of information transmitted and receivedis always synchronized, independently of the relative positions ofreceivers and transmitters. The synchronization is done referring to anuniversal time such as the Global Positioning System Time (GPS-time),the Global Orbiting Navigational Satellite System (GLONASS) time oranother suitable universal time based on a satellite system. The GPS orGLONASS receivers are connected or integrated to the broadcastingstations. At the receiver side, GPS or GLONASS receivers may beintegrated or connected to user devices (e.g., Personal Computers,wearable computers, Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), smart phones oronboard mobile computers) that may be independent or separate from theradio or television receivers. The system is also based on a pluralityof hyperlinks defined for given universal-time intervals ofretransmission. The hyperlinks are associated with the transmittedinformation. The hyperlinks can be retrieved, selected and activated byradio auditors or television viewers during the time intervals for whichthey have been defined.

The problem with this system is that it requires the integration orconnection of GPS receivers to user devices to operate insynchronization with GPS receivers connected to broadcast stations. Theuser devices requires a special hardware to implement the functions ofthe invention. Another drawback is that, since the universal timingsignals received from the GPS or GLONASS satellites, are used toinitialize and synchronize the internal electronic clocking systems ofthe user devices, during the periods for which GPS or GLONASS satellitesare out of sight (e.g., when user's devices are inside buildings—as isthe case on most public locations—, or not connected to an externalantenna, no timing signals are received from those satellites), thetiming information must be continuously derived from the autonomouselectronic clocking systems on the user devices. Depending on the driftof the clocking systems set up in the user devices, and depending on thetiming precision required to be sure that user devices are synchronizedwith broadcasting stations, the reception of satellite signals must beregular and frequent. This imposes a constrain particularly in publiclocations, since in practice, satellite signals can only be receivedwhen the user is outside or is traveling.

Thus, even if during the last years, interactive systems (e.g., WebTV)have been developed to improve the access to information and theinteraction with users, today important sources of information (such assources we can find on the Web) remain inaccessible for people watchingTV programs on public places.

Therefore, today there is a need to provide new convenient, universal,and easy mechanisms for enabling people receiving a broadcast televisionor radio program on a public place (e.g., on a coffee shop, an hotellobby, a railway station, or an airport lounge), to effectively selectand access complementary information for which they have some interest.

In particular, there is a need to enable auditors or viewers of a radioor television program received and played in a public place, to access,directly from a mobile wireless device (e.g., directly from theircellular phone, Personal Data Assistant (PDA), wearable computer ornotebook computer) additional information or services related to theprogram they are listening or watching.

To that aim it would be desirable to complement the primary function ofWi-Fi access points (“hot spots”, Wi-Fi Internet gateways) installed onpublic places, to provide a concurrent Internet access by means ofmobile wireless devices.

More particularly, it would be desirable to enable the access, from amobile wireless device in a public place located in the vicinity of aWi-Fi access point, to information and services related to a radio ortelevision broadcast program

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION

it is therefore a broad object of the invention to combine theuser-friendly experience of radio and television with the access to thehuge amount of information and services available on the Web.

It is another object of the invention to integrate conventionalnon-interactive receivers of broadcast programs, such as conventionalradio or television sets installed in public places, with wirelessInternet access systems (i.e., Wi-Fi systems).

It is another object of the invention to enable a radio auditor or atelevision viewer located in a public place, such as a coffee shop,hotel, university, auto repair shop, or airport terminal, to select oneor more topics of interest from a conventional broadcast program playedor displayed on a receiver set installed in said public place, and thento easily access information related to these selected topics from theWeb.

It is a further object of the invention to enable the access toadditional information related to broadcast programs, without modifyingconventional broadcast signals and thus, without requiring specialbroadcast receivers or display equipment.

It is still another object of the invention to enable an auditor or aviewer to more conveniently access additional information related tobroadcast programs, without modifying conventional wireless user devicescommonly used to access Internet through Wi-Fi access points.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to a system and method as defined inindependent claims for integrating broadcast, wireless and computersystems.

More particularly, the present invention discloses a system, method andcomputer program for use in a wireless user device, for retrieving inreal-time one or a plurality of hyperlinks related to one or a pluralityof topics selected in a program broadcast on a channel. The methodcomprises the steps of:

-   -   each time a command for selecting a topic during the        broadcasting of a program on a channel is received, sending to a        wireless internet gateway connected to a communication network,        a request corresponding to the selected topic for retrieving an        universal-time and an address;    -   receiving from the wireless internet gateway in reply to said        request corresponding to the selected topic;        -   an universal-time corresponding to the reception by the            wireless internet gateway of the request associated with the            selected topic, and        -   an address of a server associated with the channel            broadcasting the program;    -   sending a request to the server associated with the broadcast        channel, for retrieving one or a plurality of hyperlinks related        to the selected topic, said request comprising the        universal-time received from the wireless internet gateway; said        server comprising a table including one or a plurality of        hyperlinks associated with one or a plurality of time-intervals;    -   retrieving from said server, the one or plurality of hyperlinks        associated in the table with the one or plurality of        universal-time intervals comprising the universal-time included        in the request and corresponding to the selected topic,    -   recording in the wireless device, the retrieved one or plurality        of hyperlinks.

The present invention also discloses a system, method and computerprogram for use in a wireless internet gateway connected to a programreceiver, for retrieving in real-time one or a plurality of hyperlinksrelated to one or a plurality of topics selected in a program broadcaston a channel. The method comprises the steps of:

-   -   each time a request corresponding to a selected topic, is        received from a wireless device, determining by means of an        universal-time device, the universal-time corresponding to the        reception of said request;    -   identifying a server associated with the channel broadcasting        the program;    -   sending to the wireless device in reply to the request        corresponding to the selected topic;        -   the universal-time corresponding to the reception by the            wireless internet gateway of the request associated with the            selected topic, and        -   the address of the server associated with the channel            broadcasting the program.

Further embodiments of the invention are provided in the appendeddependent claims.

The foregoing, together with other objects, features, and advantages ofthis invention can be better appreciated with reference to the followingspecification, claims and drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The novel and inventive features believed characteristics of theinvention are set forth in the appended claims. The invention itself,however, as well as a preferred mode of use, further objects andadvantages thereof, will best be understood by reference to thefollowing detailed description of an illustrative detailed embodimentwhen read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 shows the main components of the invention.

FIG. 2 shows how when a user selects an interesting topic from abroadcast program, the user wireless device sends a request to the Wi-FiInternet Gateway for additional information concerning this selectedtopic.

FIG. 3 shows how, when the Wi-Fi Internet Gateway receives from the userdevice a request for additional information concerning a new selectedtopic, this Wi-Fi Internet Gateway sends back to the user device, theuniversal-time corresponding to the selection made by the user and theaddress (URL) of the Broadcast Station Server.

FIG. 4 shows how the universal-time corresponding to the selection madeby the user and the address (URL) of the Broadcast Station Serverreceived from the Wi-Fi Internet Gateway, are stored in a SelectionsTable on the user device.

FIG. 5 illustrates how, for each selection recorded in the SelectionsTable, a request is sent by the user device to the Broadcast StationServer to retrieve hyperlinks related to the topic broadcast at theuniversal-time corresponding to the selection made by the user.

FIG. 6 illustrates how, when the Broadcast Station Server receives arequest from the user device, this Broadcast Station Server identifiesand retrieves by means of the selection universal-time, the hyperlinkscorresponding to the topic or sequence that has been broadcast at thisuniversal-time and then transmits these hyperlinks to the user device.

FIG. 7 illustrates how the hyperlinks corresponding to the topicsselected by the user during the broadcasting of the program, oncereceived from the Broadcast Station Server, are stored into theSelections Table on the user device.

FIG. 8 shows how hyperlinks associated with topics selected frombroadcast programs, are selected and triggered by the user to accessadditional information or services on the Web.

FIG. 9 shows how the information associated with a topic selected from abroadcast program, is retrieved from a Web server and transmitted to theuser mobile device.

FIG. 10 illustrates how programs broadcast by a station, aresynchronized according to the present invention.

FIG. 11 illustrates how hyperlinks associated with a broadcast programbecome alive during the transmission of said program, and how aplurality of hyperlinks can be alive at a same universal-time accordingto the present invention.

FIG. 12 shows how different hyperlinks can be selected by an auditor orviewer at different universal-times, and how a plurality of hyperlinkscan be selected by an auditor or viewer at a same universal-time duringthe reception of the broadcast program.

FIG. 13 illustrates the method of selecting topics during thebroadcasting of a program according to the present invention.

FIG. 14 illustrates the method of accessing information associated withselected topics according to the present invention

PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION

As shown in FIG. 1, The present invention is directed to a system andmethod for enabling a radio auditor or a television viewer (110) to haveaccess to complementary information related to a broadcast programreceived in real-time. In a preferred embodiment of the presentinvention, a person (110) receiving a broadcast program, can:

-   -   select, simply by pressing a reserved key on a wireless device        (101), one or a plurality of topics or sequences (112) drawing        his or her attention (111); and    -   access, immediately, or at a later time, through a Wireless        Internet Gateway (100), additional information on the Web        related to the selected topics or sequences (112).

The system is based on:

-   -   the synchronization according to a same universal-time (107)        (103) (such as for example, the Universal Time Coordinated (UTC)        or the Global Positioning System (GPS) time) of:        -   the local time used in the broadcast station (105) and        -   the local time used in the Wireless Internet Gateways (100)            (i.e., Wi-Fi Internet Gateways, wireless internet access            points, or “hotspots”)    -   the synchronization, according to local time of the Wireless        Internet Gateway (100), of the requests sent by the wireless        user devices (101).

Using these principles, the flow of information transmitted by thebroadcast station (105) and the flow of information received and sent byusers (110) are permanently synchronized, independently of the relativepositions of the broadcast station and users. The local time at whichthe requests are sent by the users (110) from their wireless devices(101), can be compared with the local time used by the broadcast station(105). It is then possible to identify which topics or sequences (112)have been broadcast at the time of the selection made by the user.

The system is also based on the definition of hyperlinks associated withparticular topics or sequences of the broadcast programs. During thebroadcasting of a program, hyperlinks and universal-time intervalsassociated with particular topics and sequences, are logged by thebroadcast station (105) on a Channel Server (106). For each topic (orsequence), the Channel Server keeps a record of the universal-timeinterval during which this topic (or sequence) has been broadcast and arecord with the hyperlinks associated with this topic (or sequence).

Since the broadcast station (105) and wireless user devices (101) aresynchronized through the wireless internet gateway (100), the hyperlinks30 corresponding to the selections made by users, can be retrieved fromthe Channel Server (106).

In a particular embodiment of the invention, the synchronization is donereferring to an universal time such as the Global Positioning SystemTime (GPS-time), the Global Orbiting Navigational Satellite System(GLONASS) time or another suitable universal time based on a satellitesystem. The GPS or GLONASS receivers (107) are connected to orintegrated in the broadcasting stations (105). At the receiver side, GPSor GLONASS receivers (103) can be connected to or integrated in theWireless Internet Gateway (100). The Wireless Internet Gateway (100) isalso connected (e.g., by means of an asynchronous serial port) to thereceiver (102) from which it detects the broadcast channel (116)actually selected (i.e., tuned) on the receiver.

As illustrated in FIG. 10, the invention is also based on a system inwhich programs (1001) are broadcast according to an universal time.FIGS. 11 and 12 show how the broadcast information (1101) and hyperlinks(1102) are associated and how, when transmitters and receivers aresynchronized, the hyperlinks can be selected by radio auditors ortelevision viewers during predefined time intervals (1103). FIG. 12 alsoshows how a plurality of hyperlinks can be selected at the same time(1104, 1105, 1201)).

As illustrated in FIG. 1, the Broadcast Station (105) (e.g., a TVstation) receives a timing signal from an universal-time receiver (107)(e.g., from a GPS receiver delivering GPS Time signals). During thebroadcasting of a program, the Broadcast Station or transmitter (105)updates a database (Program Timing File (120)) on a Broadcast StationServer (106) (i.e., a server linked to the transmitter). This databasecomprises universal time intervals (1103) (for instance GPS-timeintervals) during which hyperlinks (1102) between the broadcast program(1101) and URLs (Uniform Resource Locators) of Web pages are “alive” andcan be retrieved by radio auditors or television viewers. Each hyperlinklogged on the Program Timing File (120) stored on the Broadcast StationServer (106), is tagged with an universal-time interval (e.g., with theGPS Time interval) corresponding to the broadcast of a topic orsequence.

In a remote location (typically a public location, such as a cafeteria,an hotel lobby, or an airport lounge), users (110) can communicate withtheir wireless mobile devices (101) (e.g., cellular phones; PersonalData Assistants (PDAs), pocket PCs or notebook computers) and can alsoaccess the Internet (109) through a high-speed wireless internet accessgateway—named Wi-Fi Internet Gateway or Wireless Internet Gateway (100)in the present description. The Wi-Fi Internet Gateway (100) operates asmaster station of a wireless LAN (e.g., a Wi-Fi IEEE 802.11b LAN). FIG.1 shows a receiver (102) (e.g., a TV set) connected (e.g., by a serialport) (116) to a Wi-Fi Internet Gateway (100). The broadcast channel(e.g., TV channel number 25) corresponding to the program (112)displayed on the receiver (102) is transmitted from this receiver (102)to the Wi-Fi Internet Gateway (100). A Channel Table (113) is stored onthe Wi-Fi Internet Gateway (100). This Channel Table (113) comprises,for each broadcast channel (114) programmed on the receiver (102), meansfor identifying the Broadcast Station (105) and the address (URL) (116)of the Broadcast Station Server (106) associated with the BroadcastStation (105).

Method for Selecting Topics and Retrieving Hyperlinks Related toSelected Topics

When a person (201) listens to or watches a broadcast program (212),some topics may draw his attention. This person may wish to obtaincomplementary information concerning these topics. FIG. 13 shows amethod for selecting one or several topics of interest for, immediately,or at a later time, receiving additional information related to thesetopics. The information is retrieved by means of the wireless userdevice (201) from on one or a plurality of servers (208) connected to anetwork (209) (e.g., from the Word Wide Web).

As a preliminary step, for enabling a user (210) to select one orseveral topics of interest (212) in a program received among a pluralityof different broadcast channels (304), (314), a Channel Table (311),like the one illustrated hereinafter, must be created beforehand andstored on the Wi-Fi Internet Gateway (300). This Channel Table is filledwith information related to the broadcast channels that have beenprogrammed on the receiver (302). Basically, the Channel Table (311)stores the information required to access from the wireless user device(301), a plurality of Broadcast Station Servers (306) throughout theWi-Fi Internet Gateway (300) and the network (309) to which this Wi-FiInternet Gateway is connected. The Channel Table comprises a list ofchannel numbers (314) and, for each channel number:

-   -   the name of the broadcasting station (315); and    -   the network address (for instance the URL) (316) of the        Broadcast Station Server (306) associated with said channel        (314).

The information concerning the Channel Table is previously recorded(e.g., by the owner of Wi-Fi Internet Gateway (300)) and can be providedby any of the many information sources that are available today (e.g.,by TV or radio operators, from newspapers, the Web, . . . ). BROADCASTCHANNEL INFORMATION CHANNEL: STATION: SERVER URL: 03 RNFhttp:/www.radio_nf_info.com 25 TV2 http:/www.tve2_link.com 17 TV5http:/www.tve5_link.com 33 CNN-NEWS http:/www.cnn_news_link.com 72 NBChttp:/www.nbc_link.com

The method for an auditor of a radio program or for a viewer of a TVprogram, of selecting one or a plurality of topics of interest duringthe broadcasting of the radio or TV program, comprises the followingsteps:

-   -   (1301) listening to or watching a program (210) broadcast by a        radio or TV station (105) and received on a radio or TV set        (202);    -   (1302) perceiving (listening or viewing) in the program a topic        of interest (212) for which additional information or service is        desired;    -   (1303) selecting a topic (or sequence) by entering a selection        command (211) on a wireless device (201);    -   (1304) transmitting from the wireless device to the Wi-F        Internet Gateway (200), this selection command (213).        The method in the Wi-Fi Internet Gateway (200), comprises the        further steps of:    -   (1305) determining by means of an universal-time device (for        instance a GPS receiver) (303), integrated or connected to the        Wi-Fi Internet Gateway (300), the universal time corresponding        to the reception from the wireless user device ((301) of said        selection request;    -   (1306) retrieving (304) from the broadcast program receiver        (302), the number of the selected broadcast channel (304),        (314);    -   (1307) reading in a Channel Table (311) stored on the Wi-Fi        Internet Gateway (300), the address (URL—Uniform Resource        Locator) of a Broadcast Station Server (306) associated with the        selected broadcast channel (314);    -   (1308) transmitting to the wireless user device (301):        -   the universal-time (303) corresponding to the selection of            the topic by the user; and        -   the address (URL) of the Broadcast Station Server (306)            associated with the selected broadcast channel (314).            The method, in the wireless user device (301) (501) (601),            comprises the further steps of:    -   (1309) recording into a Selections Table (400):        -   the universal-time (401) corresponding to the selection of            the topic by the user, and        -   the address (URL) of the Broadcast Station Server (402),    -    received from the Wi-Fi Internet Gateway;    -   (1310) accessing the Broadcast Station Server (506) associated        with the selected broadcast channel (515);    -   (1311) sending (517) to said Broadcast Station Server (506), the        recorded universal-time (515) corresponding to the selection;    -   (1312) searching in a Program Timing File (520) stored on the        Broadcast Station Server (506) for hyperlinks (1102) that can be        activated at said universal-time (1104) (i.e., the hyperlinks        that have been defined for the one or plurality of time        intervals comprising said universal-time);    -   (1313) retrieving from the Program Timing File (620) located on        the Broadcast Station Server (606), the names (or descriptions)        and destination addresses (URLs) (617) of the hyperlinks that        can be activated (1102);    -   (1314) storing the retrieved one or plurality of hyperlinks        names and destination addresses (URLs) into the corresponding        entry (703) in the Selections Table (700), (613).

FIG. 2 illustrates how, when a user (210) perceives a topic of interest(212) in a broadcast program, he can immediately select this topic bypressing a reserved key (211) on his wireless device (201). A“get-new-topic” or selection command (213), activated by the userselection, is wirelessly transmitted from the wireless user device (201)to the Wi-Fi Internet Gateway (200).

Using a common universal-time system (203), (207) between the broadcaststation (205) and the Wi-Fi Internet Gateway (200), allows to preciselysynchronize the events recorded in the Broadcast Station Server (206)with the selection events (211) made by the user and detected by theWi-Fi Internet Gateway (200). Therefore, the hyperlinks, active on theBroadcast Station (205) when the selections (211) of topics (212) areperformed remotely by users (210), are identified without any error,independently of the value and fluctuation of transmission delaysgenerated between user devices (201) and Broadcast Station Server (206)through the Internet network (209).

FIG. 3 illustrates how, when a “get-new-topic” or selection command(213) is received from the wireless user device (201), the Wi-FiInternet Gateway (300):

-   -   immediately determines the universal-time by means of a        universal-time receiver (e.g., 27/11/2002—12:10:52 from GPS        receiver) (303); and,    -   identifies the channel number (e.g., channel number 25) selected        on the broadcast program receiver (302) by means of a connection        (304) with this receiver (302).

Using the selected channel number (e.g., channel number 25) (314), theBroadcast Station (e.g., TV2) (315), (305) for which the broadcastprogram receiver (302) is tuned, and the address (URL e.g.,http:/www.tve2_link.com) (316) of the associated Broadcast StationServer (306) are identified in the Channel Table (311) located in theWi-Fi Internet Gateway (300). The universal-time (e.g., GPS Time:27/11/2002—12:10:52) corresponding to the selection, and the address(URL e.g., http:/www.tve2_link.com) of the associated Broadcast StationServer (306) are transmitted (317) from the Wi-Fi Internet Gateway (300)to the wireless user device (301).

Each time the user device (310) receives from the Wi-Fi Internet Gateway(300), the universal-time (e.g., GPS Time: 27/11/2002—12:10:52)corresponding to the new selection, and the address (URL e.g.,http:/www.tve2_link.com) of the Broadcast Station Server (306) (317), itstores this information (i.e., the universal-time (401), and the URL(402)) in the Selections Table (400). The following table, also shown inFIG. 4, shows how, for each selection made by the user,

-   -   the universal-time (e.g., GPS Time: 27/11/2002—12:10:52) (401),        and    -   the URL (e.g., http:/www.tve2_link.com) (402) of the associated        Broadcast Station Server (306),

are stored. SELECT. TIMES: STATION SERVER URL LINK NAME/LINK URL27/11/2002 11:51:56 http:/www.tve2_link.com Real Madrid Historyhttp://www.wsoccer.com/teams/spain/real_madrid/ 27/11/2002 12:05:17http:/www.tve2_link.com Babymilk Issue Factshttp://www.babymilk.nestle.com/ 27/11/2002 12:10:52http:/www.tve2_link.com

FIG. 5 shows how, using the address or URL (515), (402) of the BroadcastStation Server (506) (e.g., http:/www.tve2_link.com) the user device(501) sends a request (517) to the Broadcast Station Server (506) toretrieve one or plurality hyperlinks related to the topic or sequencebroadcast by the Broadcast Station (505) at the universal-time (514),(401) corresponding to the selection made by the user.

FIG. 6 shows how, when a request is received from a wireless user device(601), the Broadcast Station Server (606), using the selectionuniversal-time comprised in the request (415), identifies in the ProgramTiming File (620), the one or plurality of hyperlinks (1103) active atthe universal-time of the selection (1105). The information related tothe identified hyperlinks (including the hyperlink description or shortname and address or URL) (617) is extracted from the Program Timing File(620) and transmitted to the wireless user device (601).

The following table, also shown in FIG. 7, shows how an hyperlink (703)defined by a name (e.g., “IBM Buy Today—Ship Today”) and an address (URLe.g., http://www.pc.ibm.com/us/offers/buytoday), is received from theBroadcast Station Server (606) and is updated in the Selections Table(700) located in the user device (601).

Method for Accessing Information Related to Topics Selected by the User

Once the radio auditor or television viewer (810) has selected one or aplurality of topics of interest (812) from broadcast programs and oncethe hyperlinks names and URLs (703) corresponding to the selected topicshave been retrieved from the Broadcast Station Servers (806) and arestored or recorded in the Selections Table (700) located on the userdevice (801), the auditor or viewer can select and activate (811) anyretrieved hyperlink to access multimedia information or service relatedto the corresponding selected topic. This information or service islocated on servers (808) connected to the network (809) (e.g., InternetWeb servers).

The method for an auditor or viewer of broadcast programs, of accessinginformation or services related to topics selected during thebroadcasting of these programs, comprises the following steps of:

-   -   (1401) selecting in the Selections Table (700) located in the        wireless user device, an hyperlink (816) using the hyperlink        name (or description) or destination address (703), (816)        retrieved from the Broadcast Station Server (806);    -   (1402) activating said hyperlink (811) using a browser program        installed on the user device (801);    -   (1403) accessing the information and/or service located on a        server (808) connected to the network (809) using the        destination address retrieved with the selected hyperlink;    -   (1404) retrieving from the accessed server (908) connected to        the network (909) and displaying this information and/or service        (917) using the browser program installed on the user device        (901).

FIG. 8 shows how a user (810) selects (811) an hyperlink ((e.g., “IBMBuy Today—Ship Today”) (816), (703) in the Selections Table (700) and,using the URL encoded on selected entry, (e.g.,http://www.pc.ibm.com/us/offers/buytoday/), triggers the hyperlink toretrieve through internet (809), the desired information or servicelocated on a Web server (808). The corresponding request (817) is sentfrom the user device (801) to the hyperlinked Web server (808) (e.g.,to: http://www.pc.ibm.com). It is important to note that, according to aparticular embodiment of the invention, the triggering of an hyperlink(703) can be automatic, immediately after having been received by theuser device (801).

FIG. 9 illustrates how the accessed Web server (908) retrieves andsends, through the Wi-Fi Internet Gateway (900), to the wireless userdevice (901), the information or service (917) related to the topic(e.g., “IBM Buy Today—Ship Today”)(912) that was selected by the user.The received information or service (917) is finally played or displayedto the user (910) by means of a browser program on the user device(901).

While the invention has been particularly shown and described withreference to a preferred embodiment, it will be understood that variouschanges in form and detail may be made therein without departing fromthe spirit, and scope of the invention.

1-23. (canceled)
 24. A method, used in conjunction with a wirelessdevice, for retrieving in real-time one or a plurality of hyperlinksrelated to a topic selected during a broadcast of a program on achannel, said method comprising: responsive to a command that selectedthe topic during the broadcast of the program on the channel, sending afirst request for retrieving a universal-time and an address of a serverassociated with the channel, said first request being directed to awireless internet gateway connected to the server via a communicationnetwork, said universal-time pertaining to when the command wasperformed; receiving the universal-time and the address of the serverfrom the wireless internet gateway in response to the first request;sending a second request to the server via the wireless internet gatewayusing the received address of the server, for retrieving the one or aplurality of hyperlinks related to the selected topic, said secondrequest transmitting to the server the received universal-time fromwhich the one or plurality of hyperlinks may be determined by theserver; retrieving the one or plurality of hyperlinks from the servervia the wireless internet gateway; and recording the retrieved one orplurality of hyperlinks, wherein said sending the first request, saidreceiving the universal-time and the address of the server, said sendingthe second request, said retrieving the one or plurality of hyperlinks,and said recording the retrieved one or plurality of hyperlinks areperformed by the wireless device.
 25. The method of claim 24, whereinthe server comprises a table that associates the one or a plurality ofhyperlinks with a time interval that comprises the universal-time,thereby enabling the server to determine the one or a plurality ofhyperlinks from the universal-time.
 26. The method of claim 24, whereinthe one or plurality of hyperlinks each comprise a hyperlink identifierand a destination address for accessing information related to theselected topic.
 27. The method of claim 24, wherein the wirelessinternet gateway and the server are synchronized according to a sameuniversal time.
 28. The method of claim 24, wherein the method furthercomprises: storing, by the wireless device, the received address of theserver, the received universal-time, and the retrieved one or pluralityof hyperlinks in a selections table.
 29. The method of claim 28, whereinthe method further comprises: selecting from the selections table ahyperlink of the one or plurality of hyperlinks; activating the selectedhyperlink using a browser program installed on the wireless device; andaccessing information related to the selected topic on a serverconnected to the communication network at a destination address of thehyperlink, wherein said selecting from the selections table, saidactivating the selected hyperlink, and said accessing information areperformed by the wireless device.
 30. The method of claim 24, whereinthe wireless device is a mobile wireless device selected from the groupconsisting of a cellular phone, a Personal Data Assistant (PDA), awearable computer, and a notebook computer.
 31. The method of claim 24,wherein the communication network is an Internet Protocol (IP) network,wherein the server is a web server, wherein the wireless devicecomprises a web browser, and wherein the address of the server is aUniform Resource Locator (URL) address.
 32. The method of claim 24,wherein the wireless device comprises a computer program havinginstructions therein, and wherein said sending the first request, saidreceiving the universal-time and the address of the server, said sendingthe second request, said retrieving the one or plurality of hyperlinks,and said recording the retrieved one or plurality of hyperlinks areperformed by execution of the instructions in the wireless device.
 33. Asystem comprising a wireless device, said wireless device adapted tooperate in conjunction with a method for retrieving in real-time one ora plurality of hyperlinks related to a topic selected during a broadcastof a program on a channel, said method comprising: responsive to acommand that selected the topic during the broadcast of the program onthe channel, sending a first request for retrieving a universal-time andan address of a server associated with the channel, said first requestbeing directed to a wireless internet gateway connected to the servervia a communication network, said universal-time pertaining to when thecommand was performed; receiving the universal-time and the address ofthe server from the wireless internet gateway in response to the firstrequest; sending a second request to the server via the wirelessinternet gateway using the received address of the server, forretrieving the one or a plurality of hyperlinks related to the selectedtopic, said second request transmitting to the server the receiveduniversal-time from which the one or plurality of hyperlinks may bedetermined by the server; retrieving the one or plurality of hyperlinksfrom the server via the wireless internet gateway; and recording theretrieved one or plurality of hyperlinks, wherein said sending the firstrequest, said receiving the universal-time and the address of theserver, said sending the second request, said retrieving the one orplurality of hyperlinks, and said recording the retrieved one orplurality of hyperlinks are performed by the wireless device.
 34. Thesystem of claim 33, wherein the server comprises a table that associatesthe one or a plurality of hyperlinks with a time interval that comprisesthe universal-time, thereby enabling the server to determine the one ora plurality of hyperlinks from the universal-time.
 35. The system ofclaim 33, wherein the one or plurality of hyperlinks each comprise ahyperlink identifier and a destination address for accessing informationrelated to the selected topic.
 36. The system of claim 33, wherein thewireless internet gateway and the server are synchronized according to asame universal time.
 37. The system of claim 33, wherein the wirelessdevice comprises a selections table, and wherein the method furthercomprises: storing the received address of the server, the receiveduniversal-time, and the retrieved one or plurality of hyperlinks in theselections table.
 38. The system of claim 37, wherein the method furthercomprises: selecting from the selections table a hyperlink of the one orplurality of hyperlinks; activating the selected hyperlink using abrowser program installed on the wireless device; and accessinginformation related to the selected topic on a server connected to thecommunication network at a destination address of the hyperlink, whereinsaid selecting from the selections table, said activating the selectedhyperlink, and said accessing information are performed by the wirelessdevice.
 39. The system of claim 33, wherein the wireless device is amobile wireless device selected from the group consisting of a cellularphone, a Personal Data Assistant (PDA), a wearable computer, and anotebook computer.
 40. The system of claim 33, wherein the communicationnetwork is an Internet Protocol (IP) network, wherein the server is aweb server, wherein the wireless device comprises a web browser, andwherein the address of the server is a Uniform Resource Locator (URL)address.
 41. The system of claim 33, wherein the wireless devicecomprises a computer program, and wherein the computer program comprisesinstructions that when executed in the wireless device performs saidmethod.
 42. A method, used in conjunction with a wireless internetgateway, for retrieving in real-time one or a plurality of hyperlinksrelated to a topic selected during a broadcast of a program on achannel, said method comprising: responsive to a first request receivedby the wireless internet gateway from a wireless device for auniversal-time and an address of a server associated with the channel,retrieving the universal-time from a system adapted to determine theuniversal-time, identifying the address of the server, and sending theretrieved universal-time and the identified address of the server to thewireless device, said universal-time pertaining to when a commandselecting the topic during the broadcast of the program on the channelwas performed, said wireless internet gateway being connected to theserver via a communication network; and after sending the retrieveduniversal-time and the identified address of the server to the wirelessdevice, and responsive thereafter to a second request received by thewireless internet gateway from the wireless device for retrieving theone or a plurality of hyperlinks from the server using the address ofthe server, retrieving the one or plurality of hyperlinks from theserver and transmitting the retrieved one or plurality of hyperlinks tothe wireless device, wherein said retrieving the universal-time, saididentifying the address of the server, said sending the universal-timeand the address of the server are performed by the wireless internet,and said retrieving the one or plurality of hyperlinks are performed bythe wireless internet gateway.
 43. The method of claim 42, wherein thewireless internet gateway is connected to a program receiver thatreceives program broadcast on the channel, wherein the wireless internetgateway comprises a channel table that associates the address of theserver with the channel, and wherein identifying the address of theserver comprises: receiving, by the wireless internet gateway, anidentification of the channel from the program receiver; andidentifying, by the wireless internet gateway, the address of the serverfrom the channel table.
 44. The method of claim 42, wherein the servercomprises a table that associates the one or a plurality of hyperlinkswith a time interval that comprises the universal-time, thereby enablingthe server to determine the one or a plurality of hyperlinks from theuniversal-time.
 45. The method of claim 42, wherein the one or pluralityof hyperlinks each comprise a hyperlink identifier and a destinationaddress for accessing information related to the selected topic.
 46. Themethod of claim 42, wherein the wireless internet gateway and the serverare synchronized according to a same universal time.
 47. The method ofclaim 42, wherein the communication network is an Internet Protocol (IP)network, wherein the server is a web server, wherein the wireless devicecomprises a web browser, and wherein the address of the server is aUniform Resource Locator (URL) address.
 48. The method of claim 42,wherein the wireless internet gateway comprises a computer programhaving instructions therein, and wherein said retrieving theuniversal-time, said identifying the address of the server, said sendingthe universal-time and the address of the server are performed by thewireless internet, and said retrieving the one or plurality ofhyperlinks are performed by execution of the instructions in thewireless internet gateway.
 49. A system comprising a wireless internetgateway, said wireless internet gateway adapted to operate inconjunction with a method for retrieving in real-time one or a pluralityof hyperlinks related to a topic selected during a broadcast of aprogram on a channel, said method comprising: responsive to a firstrequest received by the wireless internet gateway from a wireless devicefor a universal-time and an address of a server associated with thechannel, retrieving the universal-time from a system adapted todetermine the universal-time, identifying the address of the server, andsending the retrieved universal-time and the identified address of theserver to the wireless device, said universal-time pertaining to when acommand selecting the topic during the broadcast of the program on thechannel was performed, said wireless internet gateway being connected tothe server via a communication network; and after sending the retrieveduniversal-time and the identified address of the server to the wirelessdevice, and responsive thereafter to a second request received by thewireless internet gateway from the wireless device for retrieving theone or a plurality of hyperlinks from the server using the address ofthe server, retrieving the one or plurality of hyperlinks from theserver and transmitting the retrieved one or plurality of hyperlinks tothe wireless device, wherein said retrieving the universal-time, saididentifying the address of the server, said sending the universal-timeand the address of the server are performed by the wireless internet,and said retrieving the one or plurality of hyperlinks are performed bythe wireless internet gateway.
 50. The system of claim 49, wherein thewireless internet gateway is connected to a program receiver thatreceives program broadcast on the channel, wherein the wireless internetgateway comprises a channel table that associates the address of theserver with the channel, and wherein identifying the address of theserver comprises: receiving, by the wireless internet gateway, anidentification of the channel from the program receiver; andidentifying, by the wireless internet gateway, the address of the serverfrom the channel table.
 51. The system of claim 49, wherein the servercomprises a table that associates the one or a plurality of hyperlinkswith a time interval that comprises the universal-time, thereby enablingthe server to determine the one or a plurality of hyperlinks from theuniversal-time.
 52. The system of claim 49, wherein the one or pluralityof hyperlinks each comprise a hyperlink identifier and a destinationaddress for accessing information related to the selected topic.
 53. Thesystem of claim 49, wherein the wireless internet gateway and the serverare synchronized according to a same universal time.
 54. The system ofclaim 42, wherein the communication network is an Internet Protocol (IP)network, wherein the server is a web server, wherein the wireless devicecomprises a web browser, and wherein the address of the server is aUniform Resource Locator (URL) address.
 55. The system of claim 49,wherein the wireless internet gateway comprises a computer programhaving instructions therein, and wherein said retrieving theuniversal-time, said identifying the address of the server, said sendingthe universal-time and the address of the server are performed by thewireless internet, and said retrieving the one or plurality ofhyperlinks are performed by execution of the instructions in thewireless internet gateway.